Edwabd andrews



(No Model.) v

` E. ANDREWS.

AIR BRAKE.

PatelitedJune` `26, 1888.

lllll'l-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIHIII lllllll EDWARD ANDREWS, oFror'rsvrLLE,

Arana* Ottica.

PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONEv HALF TO VILLIAM G. MATZ, OF SAME PLACE.A

.AIR-BRAKE..

SPECIFICATION forming part oi' Letters Patent No. 385,224, dated June 26, 1888.

Application filed January 26, i888.

To @ZZ whom z5 may concern):

Bc it known that l, EDWARD ANDREWS, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Potts ville, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to air-brakes, and has for its object the construction of a brake especially adapted for use on freightvcars`such as coal-cars, cars for carrying merchandise, live 5 stock, and other kinds of freight.

One of the most serious objections to the use of power-brakes that has been encountered in their practical application to freight'cars has been that, owing to the large number of cars usually coupled in a freight-train and the con.` sequent large number of brakes required to be applied to stop the momentum of such a train, it has been found impracti cable to tax the locomotive to supply sufficient steam to draw the train and compress air to supply so large a number of brake-cylinders remote from the engine.

It is my purpose to provide a simple, cheap, and effective brake to be applied tothe trucks of freight-cars and operated by the momentum of the cars when required, thus relieving the engine of all work, except moving the train.

The invention will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure l repres'ents a plan ol" a truck of a ireightcar with my improvement applied. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line c x, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an end View. Fig. 4t is a side elevation ol the compressing and the brake cylinder. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line y y oi" Fig. 4t. Fig. Gis a vertical longitudinal section on the line y' y' of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan of the two cylinders. Fig. 8 is an enlarged section of one ofthe valvechambers and valve, and Fig. 9 is an inverted plan of the cylindes detached.

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters marked thereon, A B :represent the axles ofatruck; O, the upper andD the lower Serial No. 261,902. (No model.)

bolster, and E F the brake beams, all ofwhich are of ordinary construction.

G- is a com pressing-cylinder, and Ifl a brakecylinder, which are secured to any suitable parts of the car-truck and by any approved means. The two cylinders communicate through ports a a in the base b of the cylinder.

In the base b are formed valvechambcrs c d, which are provided with valves pf, held to 6o their seats by springs g. rIhe valves are inserted by removing the rectangular cover l1., which is held in position by a bolt, v. Air is admitted to the cylinder G through a port, j, communicating with the valve-chamber d and the atmosphere, and a port, k, communicating with the valve-chambcrd and the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 6.

The cylinder G is provided with apiston, Z, to which the rod m oi' the eccentric-strap a is 7o attached bya ball-and socket joint, o. On the axle A is secured a conical eccentriccam, p, which is provided with a `llange, q, to prevent the ecceutricstrap from being pushed off the eccentric.

The cylinder I-I is provided with a piston,

i', the rod s of which engages with one end of the lever t, which isfulcrumcd at it in a bolt,

c, secured to the brake-beam lil, and provided with a forked head, fw.` The opposite end of the lever tis attached to a rod, w', which connects with the brake beam F. In doubletruck cars the lever t is connected with the brake-beam and the lever of lhe other truck by a chain, fr'.

I is a rocleshaft supported on any suitable part of the trl'iclr-framc; but for the purpose of illustration it is shown secured to the lower bolster, D, by a strap, a, in which it revolves. To the shaft I is secured a double-curved sec- 9o tor-shaped cam, b', and to said cam are at` tachcd toggle-levers c' d by means ot an eye,

e', which eye rides upon the cam and raises and lowers the toggle-levers. rllhe togglclever c is attached to an arm or shipper, j", which 95 is fulcrumed at g' on the cylinder G, and is provided at one end with prongs 7L It', between which the eccentric-rod m passes, and is moved thereby upon the eccentric-cam p on the axle A, to put the air-compressor G into and out of roo operation. The arm f has a rearward extension, t', the end of which covers a port, j', in

the brakccylinder, for releasing the brakes by allowing the air to escape when the eccentric is moved out of operating contact with the cam on the axle.

In Fig. 1 the toggle-levers are shown depressed and the eccentric-strap e in working contact with the largest portion of the cam p, and in Fig. 3 the rock-shaft has been turned, the eye e brought to the center or highest portion of the sector-shaped cam b, the togglelevers c d raised, and the arm f drawn toward the center of the axle, which is the position the parts assume when the brakes are not applied.

To the rock-shaft I is attached a lever, k', which extends out to the side of the cartrucks, where it may be seized by train-hands and the brakes applied. In practice I propose to connect said lever with a forked vertical lever (not shown) secured to the carbody by a pivotal connection, and connect the upper end of the lever on the ear-body with a rope, which shall extend throughout the train, connect all of the air-brakes, and be under the control of the engineer in the eab.

It will be observed that my brake does not interfere with the ordinary hand-brake mechanism, but can be applied in conjunction therewith.

To prevent injury to the brake-cylinder and the brake levers and rods from excessive pressure when the wheels of the ear have become locked, the cylinder H is provided with an escape-port, Z', near its outer end, through which the air escapes when the piston i' has been forced out beyond it.

In turning on the brake by putting the airpump G into operation, the extension z" of the arm orshipperfcloses theport jin the brakecylinder H, and when the brake is thrown off by shifting the eccentric said port is uncovered and the air inthe cylinder allowed to escape.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In au air-brake, the combination 'of a compressing-cylinder operated from the axle of the car, a conical eccentric-cam, a laterallyadjustable eccentric strap and rod, and a brake-cylinder having its piston-rod in operating contact with a brake-lever, substantially as described.

2. In an air-brake, the combination of a compressing-cylinder operated from the axle of the car, a conical eccentric-cam, an eccentric-strap having a rod connected to the piston ofthe air-compressing cylinder by a ball-andsocketjoint, a brake-cylinder operating upon the brake-levers, and means for putting on and releasing the brakes, substantially as described.

3. In an air-brake, the combination of a compressing-cylinder and a brake-cylinder having their inner ends in the same plane and connected directly by ports in a base common to both cylinders, valve-chambers and valves in said base, and a detachable cover on one side of the base, substantially as described.

4. In an air-brake, the combination of a compressing-cylinder and a brake-cylinder having their innerends in the same plane and connected directly by ports in a basecommon to both cylinders, valves for controlling said ports, a relief-port in said base, connections between the compressing-cylinder and the axle of a car, an arm or lever for controlling said relief-port, and suitable means for applying and releasing the brakes, and simulta4 neously therewith opening and closing the relief-port, substantially as described.

5. In an air-brake, the combination of a compressingvcylinder and a brake-cylinder having their inner endsin the same plane, con-.

necteddirectly by ports and open outer ends, connections between thebrakecylinder and the brake-beam of a car, and an escape-port in the wall of the brake-cylinder uncovered.

by its piston under excessive pressure, substantially as described.

6. In an air-brake, the combination of a compressing-cylinder operated from the axle of the car, a brake-cylinder communicating therewith, ashipper, a rock-shaft and cam, and toggle-levers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDVARD ANDREWS.

Vitnesses:

S. A. TERRY, WM. E. DYRE. 

